Blogs

As most of you know the Familytree.itowler.com runs PGV (PhpGedView). I have been using the program for a few years now, and have seen it grow and become better and more refined. One of the newer (although I must admit, I am not sure how new) features is the ability to add historical dates to the time line.

It's not Often that I post stuff about my family (or in-laws) but this is a worthy cause. My father-in-law was diagnosed with a leukemia / lymphoma (Still not totally sure what it is) in 2003 and has been dealing with it since that time.

One of my wife's colleagues, Edie Gurewitsch, is a part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. This is a program that raises money to help find a cure for leukemia & lymphoma. Dr. Gurewitsch's team (The Next Generation) will be riding 100 miles on a bike to helo raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

If have the time & or money please take a chance and visit the site and consider donating to this cause. No amount is too small, it all adds up in the end. The site can be found here:

If you have participated in DNA Genealogy you may have seen the acronym MRCA. What does it mean? Well it is short for Most Recent Common Ancestor. MRCA is the first person that two different people share. For instance, I share my MRCA Robert Towler with a fellow Towler researcher. MRCA does not only apply to DNA testing, but it is often used often in this setting.

About 18 months ago I got a great little laptop that has seen pretty heavy use. Its an Acer Aspire 3680. The laptop is small, and light, and goes on the road with me all the time. I take it to genealogy research libraries, SAR meetings, when I travel for work, vacation, etc. The laptop "roams" the house as well, and can be found in any room depending on the day. Because the laptop gets lots of action, it was bound for an accident. Well the first big accident happened and almost sent the laptop to the graveyard (or recycling stack).

The computer was on the coffee table, with the power cord plugged into, and hanging down. Someone (not sure who) stepped on the power cord,j erking it down, and breaking the power jack (DC Jack) on the inside of the laptop (see the picture to the left). The broken power jack caused the laptop to not work. The laptop is out of warranty, and Acer wanted $3.00 a min to talk to me on the phone. So I searched the internet and found the service manual and figured out that I needed to replace the DC power board.

Its Valentine's Day weekend (is there such a thing??). I Figured that I would do a little bit on my ancestor named Valentine Cox (or sometimes seen as Coxe). Valentine Cox is my 6x Great Grandfather. Valentine is the son of Henry Cox, and husband to Nancy Ann Dawson, and father to Judith Cox. My connection to Valentine is as follows:

Today Ancestry.com Marks Lincoln Bicentennial With Launch of Five New Databases Featuring Millions of New Civil War Era Records. They go on to say that the new databases include more than 4 million new records. The five new databases include:

I know that I am behind on my posting, but I am trying to keep up. It's actually a lot hard than you might think. This post will be a little "light" but oh well. There have been a couple of interesting things that are going on with the family tree, so I figure that I would fill you in.

There are a few documents that are KEY to research in some families, and the Toler/Towler family has a few "Must See" documents. One of those documents is Winston Dalton's Register. Mr. Dalton's register is an old register of births, deaths and marriages which seem to have occurred, for the most part at least, in the northern portion of Pittsylvania and the southern part of Bedford counties, Virginia. The register appears to have been kept by Winston Dalton, who was a school teacher. The records of Winston Dalton's Register were copied and re-organized (arranged in alphabetical order) by A. M. Prichard, of Staunton, Virginia in 1933.

As far as I can tell the original list was published in 1934 as an article in The William and Mary Quarterly. The full details are as follows: The William and Mary Quarterly, Second Series, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Jan., 1934), pp. 36-45. I have copied some of the entries and listed them below. There are several families that are mentioned in the Register, but of note are the Toler entries. There are about 30 entries, and a lot of them center on Joseph "Big Daddy" Toler and His children. Here are the Toler entries in the Register.

Big news on the Toler / Towler / Toller surname front. About 6 months ago I took a DNA test to help add some clues to the info that I have already uncovered. Using DNA for genealogy is still kind of a new thing; with lots of people still not sure what it can do or tell you. Working with DNA on a day to day basis and having done a Masters Thesis on DNA evolution, I have a pretty good grasp on the power that this new tool for genealogy offers. I am hoping that the DNA results will provide solid evidence for a time period that records are scarce.

It's been a little while, but now some results are starting to shed some light. DNA results indicate that my ancestors are not related to the Toler/Towler clan that is found in North Carolina. In addition I have a 12 for 12 match on DNA to the Toler clan of West Virginia, with the patriarch of David Toler. And lastly, I have a 25 for 25 match to another Toler line, which comes out of Virginia. So what does this all mean?

Like every year I am going to post my goals for 2009. These are not resolutions, but rather goals. What's the difference you may ask? Well if it's a resolution, it is easier to fail or quit on. For example, if the resolution is to stop drinking coke, if you have a coke, then you failed, and may think about giving up on the resolution entirely. If it is a goal, having that coke is a "slip" and you can get back to the plan the next day. So.... I am working on Goals for 2009.

On the way home from my parents house, I was talking with my wife, and we figured it was going to be a pretty big year for us, so my goals are going to be more modest in scope this year. We plan on having a lot going on so...